LONDON, United Kingdom — The seemingly unflappable luxury market continues to waver, with growing worries that China’s booming economy — the driver for much of the rapid growth of luxury brands in the past few years — is beginning to slow down. As a result, every major luxury brand has been hit, and hit hard. Big news • Luxury stocks suffered a steep sell-off in the last ten days of September as hedge funds moved out of the

LONDON, United Kingdom — Hurricane Irene wasn’t the only storm wreaking havoc during the month of August. The financial markets were also stormy. Ongoing economic uncertainty on both sides of the Atlantic had investors in a panic, and luxury stocks were were hit hard, though they bounced back towards the end of the month. Big news • August, which is a typically quiet month, has seen some high trading volumes driving

Oprah salutes Ralph Lauren and the American dream (LA Times) “So few people, in these starkly striated economic times, during which the barriers between classes have become more insurmountable than ever, get to traverse the chasms of culture and economy that have been leapt by Winfrey and Lauren.” Hermès Ownership Battle Continues (Epoch Times) “The controversial takeover of Hermès by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis

Is Fashion In Danger Of Going The Same Way As The Ad Industry? (PSFK) “Sharing the inner workings of the business and marketing of fashion is pop culture these days, behind the scenes interviews, makings of, documentaries, buy from the runway etc. Cleverly marketing the marketing of fashion in consumer culture, or, an industry talking to itself?” Burberry bid talk continues despite price label (FT) “Could the

NEW YORK, United States — Last night, two of Ralph Lauren’s flagship stores — the recently opened 888 Madison Avenue and the venerable 1 New Bond Street — became towering, real world canvases for an extraordinary “digital extravaganza,” designed to conjure up and communicate the world of Ralph Lauren at epic scale, demonstrate the brand’s dedication to digital innovation, and celebrate the launch of the company’s “digital flagship”

Is Italy Too Italian? (NY Times) “The bolts of wool and cashmere produced at [Carlo Barbera] mill, can indeed be described as high performance, among the finest in the world… The financial performance of the mill that creates this fabric, on the other hand, is far from stellar.” Spanish Brand Focuses on Functionality as It Re-Enters the U.S. (WSJ) “From 2005 to 2007, Stuart Vevers was known for creating

Ralph Lauren: New in an Old World (IHT) “Standing shoulder to shoulder at the Élysée Palace, the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the American legend Ralph Lauren held a mutual admiration society.” New York’s Fifth Ave. Sets Record with Uniqlo Lease (Bloomberg) “New York’s Fifth Avenue is claiming a city retail record: Japanese clothier Uniqlo agreed to pay $300 million over 15 years to bring its affordable

With smartphone adoption rates higher than ever, there has recently been a flurry of activity from fashion brands focused on developing and deploying mobile applications. Today, luxury brands like Hermès, Chanel and Gucci have mobile apps for Apple’s popular iPhone. But far less attention has been paid to developing Mobile Web sites. In this guest post, our friends at PercentMobile explain why investing in the Mobile Web can

YSL and a Naked Screen (IHT) “With social networking the subject of the moment, Yves Saint Laurent made a bold decision to link its men’s wear to a new generation…But viewers won’t be getting even a glimpse of the perfectly cut coats, the jackets with a tendency to be rounded up at the base of the spine or even the drop-crotch pants that are a favorite of the designer, Stefano Pilati.” Ready to Spend, but Not to

PPR to sell lower-margin retail units (FT) “PPR, the French retail conglomerate headed by billionaire François-Henri Pinault, plans to dispose of retail businesses that generate 70 per cent of group sales to focus on clothing and accessories brands within its luxury Gucci Group and Puma, the sports wear company.” Online Luxury Retail Remains Elusive (Business Week) “There are still some brands that sell absolutely

Fashion’s Billionaires (Forbes) “If hemlines suggest whether the stock market goes up or down, most economic indicators say it’s likely we’ll be looking at longer skirts for the foreseeable future. But even if the economy doesn’t show us more leg for a while, the fortunes of fashion billionaires–who decide what we wear, where we buy it and what bag and shoes goes with it–should remain

LONDON, United Kingdom — “Men’s and women’s polo t-shirts in 25 colours from £12.99!” Ads announcing this Uniqlo promotion have been plastered alongside London buses this month, as well as being featured front-and-centre in Uniqlo shops everywhere. Same-store sales rose 18.3 percent in May 2009 over last year for the Japanese retailer, and the company’s stock hit five-year record highs. Over at